


Pirate Pining

by AuroraHearts



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Canon Compliant, M/M, Pining, Pining Riku (Kingdom Hearts), gratuitous descriptions of Pirate Sora, set during the first half of KH3
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-17
Updated: 2019-09-17
Packaged: 2020-10-20 04:24:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,433
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20669288
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AuroraHearts/pseuds/AuroraHearts
Summary: As if Riku's pining wasn't bad enough, Sora sends him a photo of his Port Royal pirate costume for the first time and Riku turns to mush.





	Pirate Pining

**Author's Note:**

> I literally have the [Pirate Sora](https://www.khuxwiki.com/w/images/a/a4/SN_-_KH_III_Pirate_Sora_7%E2%98%85_KHUX.png) medal from KHUX to blame for this fic. When I saw it I immediately thought wow, Sora's like, kinda hot as a pirate. What would _Riku_ think if he saw this photo? 
> 
> Big thanks to [TalysAlankil](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TalysAlankil/works?fandom_id=4182) for beta-reading! ♥

The Realm of Darkness was a cold, vile place—endless seas of black anguish lapping upon shores of dusty sand, the air heavy with sadness so thick it’s taste would linger on the tongue if breathed too deeply. Despite this, those possessing a powerful enough light could survive long enough to traverse its oppressive corridors.

For Riku, thoughts of Sora kept his head above water every moment the darkness sought to drown him. His smile, brighter than the sun, gave Riku the strength to swim, and his laugh could always guide him back to the surface. Even Mickey had picked up on the change in Riku’s demeanor whenever Sora contacted them through the Gummiphone and had pointed it out on more than one occasion.

While exploring the Dark World in search of Aqua, Riku wondered what grand adventure Sora was on today. Was he rescuing a sleeping princess? Flying through the air on a magic carpet? Traversing the ocean floor with mermaids? Oh, how he wished Gummiphones had existed sooner. He’d kill to see Sora with a dolphin tail.

Nevertheless, here he was, bound by duty, searching for someone he barely knew in an ocean of nothingness. While revisiting the thought of how cute Sora might look as a lion cub, Riku used an Aero spell to brush the soot off a boulder so he and Mickey could rest. That’s when he heard one of his favorite sounds—a familiar chime from his companion’s jacket. Mickey paused in his own preparations and carefully pulled the phone from his pocket, studying the screen for a moment before grinning.

“It’s another photo from Sora, which means it’s probably meant for you,” Mickey said, his expression softening as he extended his arm toward Riku.

“Oh, thanks.” Riku found a comfortable enough position to sit and took the phone, trying to keep his expression neutral even though they both knew he was as giddy as a child on Christmas morning. Sora had only recently figured out how to send photos directly to them, and every shot brought his raw enthusiasm with it, pure  _ Sora  _ oozing out of every pixel, and Riku cherished every little bit of Sora he could get.

As he swiped the screen to open the message, a familiar mixture of fondness and anticipation stirred in Riku’s chest. Any communication from Sora lifted his spirits, and a picture really was worth a thousand words. There would have been no way ‘ _ Donald made me look like a monster!’  _ could have possibly prepared Riku for the photo he had received of Sora as an actual monster, complete with sharp claws and pointy ears (would Sora  _ purr _ if Riku scratched them?), impossibly soft-looking fur all over his body (truly, all over, since he wasn’t wearing pants— _ excuse me _ ?), and a freaking  _ tail _ . Yes, Riku had fallen asleep that night imagining Monster Sora curled up in a ball in his lap.

So when this new message’s text showed up on the tiny screen reading ‘ _ We’re off to see Jack Sparrow! Think I’ll pass as a real pirate?’ _ it couldn’t possibly have prepared Riku for  _ this _ . As he impatiently watched the tiny spinning circle on the screen, Riku thought back to all the times they had dressed as pirates back home. Fantasizing about swashbuckling on the open seas together had always been one of their favorite pastimes as children, and they had once gone four Halloweens in a row in matching pirate costumes. 

But this.  _ This  _ was completely different.

Once the image finally loaded, Riku stared slack-jawed at a photo of what he would have mistaken as an honest-to-goodness pirate from the Caribbean, were it not for the familiar tufts of chestnut hair poking out from under the tricorn hat and those ocean blue eyes that he loved staring back at him. Oh, and the giant, pirate-ship-themed Keyblade.

But his expression was what first lit every one of Riku’s nerves on fire. Usually when Sora sent a picture of himself, be it a selfie or not, his bright smile lit up the photo. His positive energy shone through any magical disguise, whether he masqueraded as a toy or a monster. 

But Pirate Sora—this new Pirate Sora—was the opposite.  _ This  _ Sora could demand respect and obedience from his crew with a single expression while inciting fear in his adversaries. And those eyes—piercing, boring into Riku's soul, into his heart and every part of him that wanted to stand by his side as his first mate but at the same time be captured and plundered and whisked away on whatever ship he commanded.

Oh, how he wished Aqua was lost in the Caribbean.

His heavy wooden Keyblade sat atop his shoulders with casual confidence, his elbows bent with one strong hand on the grip while the other rested on the shaft. His stance itself exuded authority—legs apart, back straight, standing tall and proud and powerful. How Sora had grown from the little boy swinging a play sword under the paopu tree.

And oh, how Sora had  _ grown _ . Riku bit his lip and pushed through pangs of guilt as he dove his eyes downward, past the precious crown necklace, admiring the sheepskin lapels of his sea-worn leather patchwork trench coat—one befitting a real pirate. One complimenting Sora’s figure with a scandalous grip on his tiny waist, flaring out to make the curves of his body even more pronounced. 

It wasn't fair, really, for his cranberry cotton vest to have that many buttons, each one begging to be undone. It must be hot in the Caribbean, after all, under all those heavy layers. The white-collared undershirt alone surely would have sufficed, allowing the salty sea breeze to dance upon his chest.

A shiny silver buckle glistened on a belt set too low and overtop his vest, serving no purpose but to tease the eye downward to his hips. Even the gold trim of his shirt practically  _ pointed _ to the seam of his dark striped pants. Riku wondered how much time Sora spent in the ocean instead of on a ship. How differently those pants would hang when laden with seawater...

Riku swallowed heavily and was sure Mickey must be staring at him by now, but his eyes were glued to the screen, memorizing every delicious detail of Pirate Sora. He didn't even want to know how red his face must be, but it burned so hot he was pretty sure his hair would catch fire soon if his mind didn't stop wandering to impure places.

Scrolling back up before he got himself into trouble, Riku settled on Sora's face again and yearned to brush the dirt from those soft cheeks, to run his thumb over those pouty lips, to kiss away the tension in those eyebrows, to pull him close enough that his shoulders dropped and eyelids fell and head turned to the side enough to deepen the kiss— 

“Riku?” Mickey’s voice pierced the silence, and every bit of adrenaline coursing through Riku's body smacked into his spine, the phone slipping from his grip and colliding with the ground below. 

“Oh, sorry if I startled ya. Is everything okay?” Mickey asked.

Riku took a breath and licked his lips, only then noticing how dry his mouth was. “Sora, um… They're in Port Royal. Everything's fine.”

Mickey smiled—a knowing smile that Riku both loved and hated. Mickey knew his heart better than he did sometimes. “Well, that's good. Sora's heart must have guided him there for a good reason!”

_ Yeah, to torture me _ , Riku thought. He picked up the Gummiphone and brushed it off, thankful that he hadn't damaged it in his lovesick panic.

“Gosh, when this is all over you fellas should take a vacation to Port Royal. I'm sure Sora would love to take you on his adventures. Didn't you say you two used to pretend to be pirates when you were kids?”

“Yeah… We did.”

Except they weren't children anymore. Everything they had been through—the pain, the manipulation, the sacrifice—assured they could never go back to being kids building a raft and dreaming of a life beyond their little island. However, those experiences had opened Riku's eyes to truths he would never have admitted to himself back then. It had changed him for the better, and he hoped that he could find the courage to confess what his heart had always known.

In the meantime, he could dream. Dream of life on the open seas, exploring the world with his best friend and fearless captain with whom he longed to be so much more.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading!! Comments welcomed and loved ♥
> 
> Geek out with me on Twitter about Soriku! [@AuroraHearts_](https://twitter.com/AuroraHearts_)


End file.
